Due to side effects and toxicity associated with platinum-derived
metal-based drugs, extensive research has been conducted on ruthenium
(Ru) complexes. We aim to synthesize a highly oil soluble Ru(II)–p-cymene complex (Ru1) with an aliphatic chain
group, a bimetallic Ru(II)–p-cymene complex
(Ru2) with N,S,S triple-coordination and a bimetallic
Ir(III)–pentamethylcyclopentadienyl complex (Ir1) with S,S double-coordination. Subsequently, we investigate the
effects of these complexes on Vero and HepG2 cell lines, focusing
on cell death mechanisms. Characterization of the complexes is performed
through nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H and 13C NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The effective
doses are determined using the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay, applying different doses
of the complexes to the two cell lines for 24 and 48 h, respectively.
Immunoreactivities of Bax, Bcl2, caspase-3, RIP3, and RIPK1 are analyzed
using the indirect immunoperoxidase technique. Notably, all the complexes
(Ru1, Ru2, and Ir1) exhibit
distinct cell death mechanisms, showing greater effectiveness than
cisplatin. This study reveals the diverse mechanisms of action of
Ru and Ir complexes based on different ligands. To the best of our
knowledge, this study represents the first investigation of a novel
RAED-type complex (Ru1) and unexpected bimetallic complexes
(Ru2 and Ir1).